January 2011

Alcoa denies it withheld water-quality data

January 29th, 2011
in

By JournalNow Staff

RALEIGH -- North Carolina environmental regulators should restore a key state water certification revoked amid allegations that an Alcoa Inc. subsidiary intentionally withheld information, the company said Friday.
Alcoa Power Generating Inc. is appealing last month's decision in an effort to remove a big obstacle blocking the company's effort to renew its license to operate hydroelectric dams along the Yadkin River for up to 50 years.

Environmental showdown looms with Alcoa

January 27th, 2011
in

The Lexington Dispatch
Editorial

It seemed like it was only a matter of time.
What once seemed like standard procedure for Alcoa to renews its 50-year operating license has now turned into an environmental group’s dog and pony show, with the global corporation now playing the part of “misleading” clown.

YRK Files Intent to Sue Alcoa Over Contamination

January 26th, 2011
in

Yadkin Riverkeeper has issued a letter of intent to sue ALCOA under the Federal Clean Water Act for the company’s unlawful discharge of lethal contaminants into Badin Lake from the Badin Works facility in Badin, NC. The Yadkin Riverkeeper is seeking redress for violations of Section 505 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

Alcoa takes hits over relicensing

January 25th, 2011
in

by Ken Elkins
Charlotte Business Journal

The setbacks for Alcoa Inc.’s efforts to be relicensed for the operation of its hydroelectric plants along the Yadkin River keep on coming.

Riverkeeper voices skepticism over Alcoa data

January 25th, 2011
in

Published: Monday, January 24, 2011
by David Bodenheimer
The Dispatch

The rift between Alcoa Power Generating Inc. and Yadkin Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks increased last week after Naujoks accused a recent report on dissolved oxygen levels from Alcoa of being misleading.

NC environmental group tells Alcoa it plans to sue

January 25th, 2011
in

From The Charlotte Observer
The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. An environmental group has told Alcoa Inc. it intends to sue the company for what the group says are excessive discharges of cyanide and PCBs into a North Carolina lake.
An attorney for the Yadkin Riverkeeper last week sent Alcoa notice that the group intends to file a lawsuit in 60 days unless the alleged pollution at Badin Lake is addressed. Environmental groups must give companies 60 days notice before filing lawsuits for violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

Yadkin Riverkeeper Intends to Sue ALCOA for Discharge of PCBs, Cyanide 
and other Contaminants into Badin Lake, NC

January 25th, 2011
in

Winston-Salem, NC, January 25, 2011 – Today, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, Winston-Salem, NC, disclosed it has issued a letter of intent to sue Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) under the Federal Clean Water Act for the company’s unlawful discharge of lethal contaminants into Badin Lake from the Badin Works facility in Badin, NC.

The Yadkin Riverkeeper is seeking redress for violations of Section 505 of the Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et. seq., claiming that ALCOA is releasing excessive levels of cyanide, fluoride, and polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) into the lake.

Alcoa says water quality improving

January 21st, 2011
in

The Salisbury Post

In a report submitted last week to the N.C. Division of Water Quality, Alcoa Power Generating said water leaving its series of lakes and dams on the Yadkin River met a state standard for dissolved oxygen levels 99.9 percent of the time in 2010. And the company says that upgrades it would make if awarded a new license to operate the dams would further improve oxygen levels.

But an Alcoa critic calls the report “misleading” and says the company is not meeting the state’s requirement to prove it did not intentionally withhold damaging information in its pursuit of a new federal license to operate the dams.

New Report by Alcoa Raises More Questions Than Provides Answers

January 20th, 2011
in

Statement from the Yadkin Riverkeeper


New Report Issued by ALCOA 
on Dissolved Oxygen at the ALCOA Power Generating Plant in North Carolina Raises More Questions Than Provides Answers

On January 19, 2010, ALCOA issued a press release claiming a new Dissolved Oxygen Report shows continued improvement at ALCOA Power Generating’s Yadkin Project. ALCOA’s report is misleading and does not provide the promised “complete record” of the company’s activities. 

Mooneyham: Alcoa tries different approach

January 18th, 2011
in

by Scott Mooneyham
Capitol Press Association
from the Salisbury Post opinion column

RALEIGH — Recent actions by aluminum-maker Alcoa can only be interpreted a couple of ways.
Perhaps executives at the company have done some soul-searching regarding their fight over control of four dams along the Yadkin River.
Or, maybe they are finally scared.

Alcoa Creates Tipline For Pollution Whistleblowers

January 17th, 2011
in

Julie Rose
WFDD Radio

Aluminum company Alcoa has set up a 1-800 hotline to collect tips on potential contamination of water and soil around Badin Lake. Critics say the move is long-overdue.

Alcoa seeks options for Badin Works

January 17th, 2011
in

The Salisbury Post
by Karissa Minn

Alcoa Power Generating Inc. is taking a new path forward in its Yadkin River operations, according to a company official. That path includes bringing another business to the Badin Works plant, making $10 million in improvements to that facility and opening a hotline for reporting environmental issues.